1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to heat exchangers and, more particularly, to tube spacers and supports used in the exchangers.
2. Brief Description of Prior Art
There are a variety of heat exchanger tube support and tube spacing devices in the prior art. One such device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,198,529 to Fields. Fields teaches the spacing of tubes through the use of a series of rollers or rods which reside in perpendicular relationship to the tubes. U-shaped members are then employed to fix the position of the tubes at the point where the tubes cross the rollers.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,144,081 to Skiba teaches a tube spacing means comprised of a central tubular member, a plurality of relatively deep V-shaped channel members and a plurality of relatively short V-shaped channel members. The deep V-shaped channel and the short V-shaped channel members are arranged in alternating relationship about the circumference of the central tubular member.
There is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,265,128 to LeGrand a series of baffle or guide plates used to achieve the desired circulation within a shell and tube heat exchanger. Each baffle or guide plate is generally hexagonal in shape and is provided with a generally hexagonal shape of the baffle. Each of these notches receives an individual tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,397 to Pettigrew discloses the use of two transversely oriented sets of what are apparently flexible wire cables to create a lattice arrangement. This lattice arrangement is used to support the tubes in the heat exchanger.
Another type of tube support is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,893,698 to Nunninghoff. Nunninghoff employs or teaches an anchoring piece which has a J-type hook on each end. The J-type hooks on each end of the anchoring piece are rotated 90 degrees from one another. One J-type hook of the anchoring piece encircles a tube while the opposite J-type hook of the anchoring piece engages a thin attached to a second tube running perpendicularly to the first tube thus locking the two tubes in a fixed position with one another.